- Analyzing grocery pricing patterns for 7 Canadian grocers. I took care of the data acquisition. Now it is time to speak with economists / data analysts who can make sense of it. Are you interested? Please get in touch!
- Gathering and archiving all graphical material from the "Printers International Specimen Exchange". The gathering is done, now working on a writeup.
- ... various side quests from the above. Incl. a tutorial on making mobile-friendly imagemaps
- A "vibe shift" has occurred at work. Separately, my own thoughts have been more unkind/uncharitable towards others. Recently I realized that the two are connected. Isn't it funny how the vibe-shift trickled down to affect my own mindset without me even noticing?
- I think that Google is going to fall apart soon. Before they do, they'll cut money-losing boondoggles like, oh, Google Maps, Google Books, Google Groups... Who will step in to save all that data? And what does a post-Google world look like in general, anyways?
- AI is incapable of the kind of impact that is being promised. But we are still going to have a period of ~2 years until corporations realize it (it sounds like AI companies will run out of cash at that point). Until then, we're going to have a lot of layoffs because Mike-the-MBA thinks AI can do people's jobs. What should normal people do? Sit tight and sit out the game for 2 years until things stabilize?
- All of the above is part of a crisis of meaning that people - and esp. tech workers - are having. There's an enormous opportunity for Government jobs to become prestigious again. It used to be a mark of pride to work for the Government. You don't need to burn out and become a woodworker to "do real things": your local city government has plenty of "real things" for you to do in a real community.